Saturday Roundup: Five Thought Provokers

The Fifty-Year Shadow: The last living signatory of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955, warning politicians and the world of the dangers of nuclear arms proliferation, explains eloquently in this week’s NYT why that warning is just as relevant fifty years later.

Freakonomics: Named after their recent bestseller, this blog by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner continues to explore riddles — the reason behind situations and facts that seem to defy conventional wisdom. The approach is a mix of sleuthing and cultural anthropology, but the purpose is vital: As I’ve put it, Things happen the way they do for a reason, and if you want to change them, you must first understand what that reason is. These guys will show you how to unearth those reasons.

BookTalk: This online community of avid, progressive and skeptical book readers, coordinated by Chris O’Connor, discusses selected “big think” non-fiction books when they first come out, and has attracted some big-name authors to participate in the discussion of their own books (Richard Dawkins was recently on, and Jared Diamond is scheduled).

The Brights’ Net: A community for believers in a naturalistic worldview, and perhaps a much-needed reframing of ‘environmentalism’ and ‘atheism’.

Moyers on the Stifling of Public Broadcasting: As right-wing ideologues attempt to censor and dismantle public broadcasting, Moyers explains what it could mean to America.

And, via Doug’s Dynamic Drivel, this thought-provoking quote from Dwight Eisenhower in a letter he wrote in 1954:

ìShould any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.î